Temptation
by PlatypusCraze
Summary: It had been three years since that day. The day he lost all the respect he had for himself, if he had had any at all. The day he failed to protect her. The day she died. [one shot][CloudXTifa]


**I was originally planning on making this a huge story with a lot of chapters, but I used up all my ideas, and I was content with how it ended. So now it's a one shot. Hope you like it!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Square or any of the characters, yadda yadda yadda.

Temptation

It had been three years since that day.

The day he lost all the respect he had for himself, if he had had any to begin with.

The day he failed to protect her.

The day she died.

He thought he had forgiven himself a year ago, but this day would just never go away. The memory would never leave, no matter how hard he tried to forget it. The guilt would never be truly washed away, even if she said everything was all right.

He was lying in the bed of flowers that grew in the middle of the ruined churched when he heard the footsteps. At first, he hopefully thought the flower girl was returning to her church, but he knew those footsteps, and he knew the owner of them did not bear flowers.

She was not coming back today.

The echoing of the footsteps against the wooden planks grew louder, and he became more and more certain as he listened. Their sound was soft and graceful, but louder and heavier than they could have been because of the large boots. Soon the noises stopped, and a girl with long dark brown hair and brown eyes was crouching next to him.

"Tifa?" he asked softly. He wasn't exactly sure what he was asking, but a question was clearly written in his voice.

"Let's go home, Cloud," she said, extending her hand towards his.

He gently took it, and let her pull him to his feet. They left the broken church together silently, listening only to the sound of their booted feet hitting the wooden floor.

Cloud turned to look about the church before going out the doors. The setting sun's rose-colored rays peeked through the stained glass windows and the random openings in the walls and roof, giving the room a hazy, mystic feeling. Wooden wreckage was everywhere; the once intact pews were now just piles of splinters scattered throughout the building. It hadn't been in the best shape the first time he'd been there, but now it was a huge pile of rubble.

A huge pile of rubble he couldn't seem to let go of.

He looked down at Tifa to find her staring back at him with sympathizing eyes. She gave him a sad smile before exiting the church, wishing he would just leave there, and leave his guilt inside.

Cloud took another look at the church before following Tifa to his motorcycle. He swung his leg over the bike, and waited for Tifa to do the same behind him, before turning the key in the ignition and speeding off, away from the church.

Tifa loosely held onto his sides as they rapidly drove towards the 7th Heaven. Cloud could feel her desire to tightly wrap her arms around him and nestle closely against his back. He almost wanted her to, but he knew she wouldn't. She always kept her distance, especially when she had the opportunity to be close to him.

That was one of the things he hated and loved about her the most.

The wind swept through Tifa's hair, whipping it around behind her. She stared at the back of Cloud's blonde head, watching his hair blow around in the wind, the individual spikes keeping their shape, but still tossing about. She had to restrain herself from running her fingers through that amazing hair, a temptation she often had, along with many others.

When it came to Cloud, there were always many temptations for Tifa to resist.

But right now, she could feel the guilt and regret radiating off his body, kind of like the way fire emits heat.

_You said you knew you'd been forgiven, _she thought bitterly, _You told me you knew you weren't alone anymore._

After Cloud's geostigma had healed, he began to open up to her, and tell her what he thought about, the things he felt. They each put their trust in the other, and slowly became better friends than they had ever been. She tried to be there for him and help him the best she could, and slowly, his frequent visits to the abandoned church decreased, but then…

_This day just had to come again._

Tifa inhaled deeply, closing her eyes as she exhaled, welcoming the wind as it rushed around her. She began to notice the things that came in contact with her body. A leaf, a weird bug, the leather skirt thing Cloud wore on only one side of his pants that was constantly brushing up against her leg. She had always wondered why he wore that thing, but then she would turn behind her to see the black leather skirt thing she wore on the back of shorts, and realize that 'it just looks cool' was the answer.

Before Tifa could realize it, they were screeching to a halt in front of her bar. Inertia caused her to uncomfortably smash against Cloud's back.

"You okay?" he asked as he got off the bike.

"Yeah," she said softly, rubbing her face as she dismounted, walking into the store behind Cloud.

The excited giggles of two children greeted the pair inside.

"Cloud! Tifa!" they yelled happily as they latched onto Cloud, then quickly to Tifa as they tried to make their way through the door.

"Denzel, Marlene, have you two been staying out of trouble?" Tifa asked, squatting down as she spoke.

The little boy and girl nodded happily.

"Good!" Tifa said, smiling sweetly.

Cloud watched her walk gracefully around the room, suddenly deaf to the things she and the children were saying. He just watched her smile and laugh with them, marveling at how extremely pretty she was. Her voice, her smile, her laugh; he found everything about her captivating.

A year ago, he had been too tangled up in his guilt and regret to seriously think that way about her, but something she had said back then made him think:

"_Do we have to be a real family for that to work?"_

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it wasn't a very bad idea. Denzel and Marlene would definitely be happier, and he would finally know what it would feel like to hold Tifa tightly and never let her go, to belong to her, and her alone…

The memory of her death seized his mind. The smile on her face as she fell to the ground, that sword impaled through her back, her crimson blood drenching her pink dress. How he just _stood _there, knowing there wasn't anything he could do…

Every time he thought about Tifa that way, the guilt took a vice grip on him. He relived three years ago, but every time it seemed to feel more real.

_How could I dishonor her memory like that? Especially today?_

"Cloud? …Cloud!" Tifa's voice managed to break through his thoughts, "I'm putting them to bed, okay?"

"Ok."

"G' night, Cloud!" Denzel said, causing Cloud to realize that the boy was right in front of him.

"Good night," Cloud said as he knelt down to give both children a tender hug, ruffling their heads affectionately.

"Hurry and get ready, you two!" Tifa said after he finished, gently pushing the kids towards the stairs.

The two children ran to their rooms as Cloud looked away, trying not to meet Tifa's eyes as she turned to him. The unexpected warmth of her hand against his bare shoulder forced him to look up at her, taking his breath away as she gave him a warm smile. Without words, she told him she was always there for him, no matter what.

She kept their eyes locked together a few moments longer before turning to walk slowly up the stairs. He watched her until she was hidden by the walls, but he tried to imagine her softly speaking to the small children, comforting them with the same smile she'd comforted him with.

The pink ribbon falling from her hair as she fell towards the ground, her hair slowly unraveling from its thick braid. Her body suddenly becoming limp, the smirk on her murderer's face as he removed his sword from her frail body…

He was finally forced to acknowledge it. He could not think about Tifa without being haunted by Aeris.

She was everywhere. He found her wherever he looked. The way Marlene tied her hair, the church, the pink ribbons he and his friends had tied somewhere on themselves. He couldn't forget her, or the moment she died, no matter how hard he tried.

She wouldn't _let _him forgive himself.

_This is my punishment_, he told himself as he slammed his fists against the counter.

Tifa came down the stairs moments later to see Cloud hunched over the counter, fists tightly clenched, his whole body visibly shaking. As she approached him, she began to extend a shaking hand, hesitantly reaching for his arm, but withdrew it within inches from his skin.

She turned around to flip on a light, dimly illuminating the slowly darkening room.

"Cloud, enough already," she whispered. He wouldn't respond, she knew he wouldn't, but she gave him the chance, just like she always did.

She took a deep breath before saying, "You know this wont bring her back."

After a few more moments of silence, Cloud turned to her, straightening himself as he breathed bitterly, "But I let her die!"

Tifa stared at him. His glowing blue eyes were pouring all the anger and regret eating him up inside into hers. She couldn't stand it. He sounded exactly as he had the year before.

Was it just this eerie day, or had he never forgiven himself in the first place?

"Cloud," she continued, "No one believes that." Tifa looked up into his eyes, hoping she didn't look angry, "Especially not her."

Cloud looked away. He didn't want to see her expression. He could tell she was frustrated, maybe even sick of him.

"I believe it," he said with quiet defiance, before he could stop himself.

_Tifa doesn't understand at all. I failed; I was supposed to protect her. I promised I would._

"She didn't die screaming your name, Cloud!" Tifa continued, the anger in her voice evident, "She didn't die blaming you or anyone!" her voice rose with every word, and she slammed her fists angrily against the counter before almost screaming, "She wouldn't want you to be like this!"

She tried to control her shallow breathing as she unclenched her fists, removing them from the now dented countertop, before saying softly, "She died smiling," Tifa tried to smile, but her eyes defied her lips, "She was probably just glad to see you, glad you actually came for her," she looked away from him as she added, more to herself than to him, "I would've been…"

Her voice trailed off, and she found herself absentmindedly staring at her feet, her body trembling with anger, or doubt, or fear… she couldn't tell which.

The words that came from her lips next were barely audible, but rang clearer than anything else she had said before,

"Why do I have to be in love with you?"

Silence. Dead silence.

She was almost certain she had only thought it, but by the expression on his face, she could tell that she had most definitely spoken. She looked away, hoping she was hiding the tears that were now quickly forming in her eyes. She could feel him looking at her, and she wanted to look at him, she desperately wanted to lose herself in his swirling blue eyes once again, as she did every time their eyes met, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

After a few more dreadful moments of silence, Tifa turned to run back up the stairs.

She was stopped by something soft and warm taking her by the hand and firmly pulling her back into the direction she had just turned from. There wasn't enough time for her to see his face as she was pulled into his arms.

_Cloud?_

He was warmth. And he was safety. He was everything she had ever imagined, but a million times stronger than she ever thought it could be.

_So this is what you feel like?_

Tifa slowly let every second wash over her as she felt his arms tightening their hold on her. She held onto him tightly, closing her eyes, and deeply inhaling him. She let his scent slowly fill her nose as she nestled the side of her face against his chest. She couldn't find any words to describe his smell. Cloud only smelled like _Cloud._

She wanted to stay like this forever, and remain oblivious to the struggle going on inside the head above her.

Her bitter death was once again playing through his mind like a scene from a movie that could not be fast-forwarded through.

Cloud held on tighter to Tifa, refusing to let her go.

_No. Not now._

The squelching sound as a sword pierces the flesh, her scarlet blood, the undying smile on her face as she fell…

Suddenly, he found Tifa's chocolate brown eyes gazing into his.

His mind went blank. Now there was only one thing he could think about.

_Tifa. _

She found herself slowly reaching for his face. Tifa knew she had the opportunity to back down, she knew she was in complete control of herself, no matter how much she didn't want to admit it.

She knew she could've stopped her trembling fingers from touching his warm cheek. She knew she could've stopped what she was doing as she gently pulled his face closer to hers when she couldn't make herself any taller.

She knew she could have easily stopped herself before she softly pressed her lips against his.

Because when it came to Cloud Strife, Tifa had always been in complete control of herself, she had always held back, no matter how badly she didn't want to. But this time, she wasn't going to stop herself. She wouldn't let herself resist the temptations any longer.

And for Tifa Lockhart, sin had never tasted so sweet.

**I hope you liked it! I really enjoyed writing it. Read and review, please.**


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